In March 2007, to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the show, PBS aired an entertainment special produced and directed by Darcy Corcoran. "The Best of Masterpiece" was hosted by Derek Jacobi and featured interviews with Helen Mirren, Hugh Laurie, Damian Lewis, Robson Green, Ian Richardson, Gillian Anderson, Charles Dance, Alex Kingston, Anthony Andrews and Jean Marsh. The countdown special was based on more than 20,000 survey responses posted to the Masterpiece and PBS affiliate web sites, the top 12 series were:

Of course Poldark is wonderful....there is no doubt! However, I have read on an AVS forum comments made by a Senior Member who says that in one of his books, Alastair Cooke pretty much said that he thought Poldark dreadful, melodramatic stuff and beneath the standards of Masterpiece Theatre.......but whether this is correct I do not know. All that matters to us here on this forum is the joy that Poldark has brought to us :)

I am brand new to the forum. I've recently started rewatching the Poldark series on Netflix after having seen them when they originally aired on Masterpiece. Through the years I've heard that Mr. Cooke actually despised the Poldark series, but have never learned as to why he felt that way. Does anyone have any specifics on that? As much as I enjoyed watching it and ended up loving it, I just can't fathom anyone not liking it at all!!! Thanks.